Twilight Sparkle laid down to sleep. After all, it'd been a long day - It wasn't a regular thing to be destroying a tyrant and saving Equestria. Well, not too regular at least. She had reassured herself, no, Celestia had reassured her, saying that everything was okay and she did the right thing, but here she was in bed, crying. Maybe it was her exhaustion getting the best of her, or maybe it was because she couldn't stand the thought of completely murdering somepony. Whether it was the former or the latter, she felt completely horrible, her stomach twisting into a tight knot. Just like the knot she'd felt earlier, when her house was destroyed and she was about to face down with the worst threat she'd faced yet.
Twilight's body always had that way of telling her something was wrong, but as far as she was concerned, nothing was amiss. That intense knot compressed, growing tighter and tighter, powered by guilt. An unforgiving knot, the ends being pulled by Fate itself. Twilight let out a small whimper as the knot showed no remorse. The princess cringed at the thought of something being seriously wrong. She wanted everything to be okay, like it should be, like she wanted it to be. But it wasn't. She knew it. The day had been by no means boring, but the excitement was gone from her heart. All that was left there was an empty vault of darkness, and she didn't know why. Twilight didn't like not knowing something. No, she hated not knowing something. Her eyes shut, waiting for a consolation from her pain.
The young mare shivered. Her body went limp and it felt like the room's temperature had dropped a considerable amount, at least five degrees. She was sure if it had dropped any more ice would have formed on her fur. Twilight lifted a hoof to pull the bed covers over her freezing body. At home, she'd have nodded off easily, but this wasn't home, at least not yet, so it wasn't like she could just go to sleep. All her surroundings - the castle, the rooms, the atmosphere - didn't feel right. Like she was imprisoned, trapped with no way out. She was sure that she will had warmed up to the room in a few weeks, and that - hopefully - her body would heat up too. Twilight pulled the covers over her tighter with her hoof, knowing she was too weak right now to channel even a tiny flicker of magic. Hopefully this effect wouldn't last after a good sleep, if her body would let her get it. Twilight decided going over her options was the best thing right now.
Well, trying to go to sleep without trying anything was out of the question, as she would have to find something to at least tone down the pain. She thought maybe reading her trusty books would keep her mind off it, but she had no idea where to find her favourites, and she was really needing this rest. Twilight eventually decided that getting herself a glass of water would help to relieve the extreme pain she was feeling, and hopefully the knot would be more bearable. Twilight channelled magic through her horn, only to be met with nothing, not a spark, not a flicker. Not even the good feeling trying to perform magic usually - and almost always - gave her. It was possible Twilight had just picked up a stomach bug and it would be gone by the morning. All the poor mare knew was that this was going to be a fairly rough night, and the best thing would be to get some cool liquid down her throat. She pushed her covers away with a hoof as coldness enveloped her body. Coffee wasn't an option, as her room didn't provide that yet, so she would have to stick with the basic essence of cold water.
Twilight shifted closer to the edge of the bed, putting two hooves on the carpet, then the other two. She yawned as she began to walk over to the sink in the middle of the room. It may have been dark, but the moonlight shone through her window, and that was enough for her to find her way. Twilight reached the sink and - lo and behold - was a glass on the side. She twisted the cold tap on the sink and put her hoof under until it was as cold as she wanted it. Then she picked up the glass with a shaky, wet hoof and put it under the tap. It slowly filled with clear, cold, refreshing water as Twilight relaxed, almost dropping it but her reflexes saving the glass with only a few precious drops lost. Twilight sighed and turned the tap off with another hoof and tipped some of the water into her dry mouth, savouring the taste. She set it down on a bedside counter and slowly slipped back under the warm covers.
The water had the desired effect and Princess Sparkle found herself feeling a whole lot better, a subtle smile even beginning to form on her lips. The smile grew wider and then faded as Twilight's ear caught on the night stand and sent her hoof towards the glass of water. It missed only by a few inches, and Twilight pulled her hoof away, staring into the blank door. Her cutie mark was displayed in all its glory, and the smile returned, not so wide. She settled back into her pillow and sighed contentedly, picking up her glass of water again and giving it a greedy gulp. Water rushed down her throat, banishing the last of her pain. She wasn't at home, but this would have to do for now, and she would have to work with it. She set the glass down again and drowsiness seeped into her head. Twilight looked out of the window and at the milky moonlight, contrasting with a jet black sky and a dormant town. She felt okay... for now, at least. The princess looked back towards the door before shutting her eyes, and within ten minutes, she was fast asleep and drifting into the world of dreaming.
Twilight looked down at her hooves as darkness enveloped the air. It took her a few minutes, but she eventually worked out this was a lucid dream and she was going to enjoy it while it was here, and she knew this by the darkness and the white grass between her hooves. She felt by no means tired, and gave a confident flick of her head before walking on into oblivion. Before Twilight did, though, she channelled magic into her horn and conjured up a simple light spell. All that was there was the princess, the strange grass and the void in the air. Twilight checked for Luna's Moon or Luna's Stars, but they weren't there, confirming her dream theory even more than it seemed true before. Suddenly six familiar figures appeared out of nowhere, walking up to her, heads low, all seeming sad.
"Guys?" Twilight asked. "Are you okay?" She was answered by Applejack walking up to her, giving her a tight hug and sobbing quietly into the mare's shoulder. "Applejack? Are you okay?" Everypony (and dragon) apart from the farmer looked down at the group, and Pinkie Pie's mane had drooped ever so slightly. "Can anypony give me a clear answer?" Five friends shook their heads as the princess sighed, longing for an answer. "Well, it's a dream, so I guess it doesn't matter that much, but I would like an answer, please." Twilight said politely. "Hello? Am I talking to a brick wall or what?"
Everypony was crying, even the tough and strong Rainbow Dash. As soon as the young mare saw this she flinched. "Does this have something to do with my stomach pains? With the fight? Ugh, you girls are so silly sometimes..."
"We're not silly," came the voice of surprisingly, Fluttershy. "We want you to stay here."
"But I am going to stay here!" Twilight insisted. "When I wake up, I'll be here with you!"
"You will. But not for long," said Rainbow Dash.
"But this is... a dream."
Rarity cut in. "This isn't a dream, Twilight. This is a vision."
Applejack pulled away and looked at Twilight. "Ah'm sorry Twilight. Yer time has come too soon, and if Ah could reverse this, I would."
"What? But I'm fine! Look at me! Nothing's wrong!" The princess of friendship was beginning to panic.
"It does look like that, doesn't it?" Pinkie Pie said. "Let's just smile as much as we can before you leave us."
"Guys?"
The ground began to crack beneath everypony. The grass crumbled and from the gaps came bright blue lights. "What' going on?" Twilight asked.
"No, not now!" Rainbow Dash said. She swooped down close to Twilight and grabbed her by the hoof, but she wasn't moving an inch. "Twilight! You gotta move, like, right now!"
"Twilight!" Called Spike. "Come on!"
But Twilight found herself stuck in place. She may have been paralysed, or she may have just wanted to stay there. Then the ground cracked beneath her and she slipped. She allowed her body to fall, as she knew when she woke up it would be okay. Muffled screams vibrated above above her, wanting her back. "Why am I going to die?" She asked before hitting cold, hard ground.
Twilight sprung up in bed in a cold sweat. "W-What happened? What was that about?" She asked, her hooves firmly grasping the bed covers and pulling them up. "Oh my... that was a freaky one." Twilight picked up her glass of water and gulped the rest of it down. It was warm, but she didn't care. Her throat was really dry, and she just wanted some form of wet there. "O-oh, that feels much better."
The princess looked at the clock on the night stand. It was half past eight. She didn't have anything planned for today, but she did want to send Princess Celestia a letter about that dream. No, Celestia had other things to think about, not about lucid dreams. But Rarity had said it was a vision. A vision of what, though? That she was going to die soon? That obviously wasn't true, was it?
Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her after Tirek's defeat, saying she was going to die and such. But one part of her wanted to believe that it was true, that she was ill, that she was going to die. She knew exactly what part of her that was. It was the knot. The tight, unforgiving knot from yesterday, coming back for seconds, not giving up on giving her the worst time possible as she tried to go out and about during the day. But this morning, it was worse. It didn't just hurt, it burned her stomach and her neck and the rest of her body. This is a bad case of heartburn, I'll have to get an appointment with the doctor tomorrow.
Twilight began the process of getting a glass of water again. She pushed the bed covers away, grabbed the glass with a hoof and remembered that her magic might be back. So she set the glass back down on the table and began channelling magic. A tiny lick of magic came, but not nearly enough to do anything with before her spell failed, and a tiny bit of soot flew down and onto her muzzle, making her sneeze. "A-a-achoo! Well, that's out of the question." Twilight picked up the glass with her hoof and switched on the tap, holding the glass under until it was full, then turning it off and taking a greedy gulp. It wasn't like anypony else was in the room.
She put the cup on the night stand, and, clutching her chest, made it to the door and out into the hallway. A guard walked past and noticed Twilight's pain. He knew he shouldn't have, but he turned to her and said, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, are you alright?"
Twilight nodded. She didn't want to look weak. "Yeah... I'm fine," she muttered.
Luckily for Twilight, the guard decided not to press it further but to walk off and do his duties as a guard. He did, however, stop and give a nervous glance to Twilight, who was hobbling own the hallway with her head hung low and her mouth spluttering unrecognisable words. He was going to tell his workmates about this. After all, a captain always tells his guard if something's wrong, and he was sure that Twilight should be at the doctors. He disappeared in a flash of magic, loud enough for Twilight to turn her head but to see nothing there. "That was weird... Captain Starshade never does that. He's not even allowed to do that."
The outskirts of Ponyville...
Captain Starshade looked at his peers. They all stole glances at each other, before he cleared his throat. "My fellow comrades, it appears something is amiss with the princess."
"Amiss?" One guard said. "Whaddya mean by "amiss"?
"Silence!" Starshade said. Then he calmed and replied, "She looks ill. She's been clutching at her chest and spluttering as soon as she got out of her room. I'm very concerned for her. She won't listen to an old feller like me."
"So dya wan us ta go tell 'er ta go ta doctor?"
"Precisely," Starshade said, "Who wants to do it?"
"Me!" a young officer called. "I'll do it!"
Captain Starshade found the source of the voice and voiced, "Ah, Flash Sentry. You've met Twilight before, haven't you?"
"Kind of. She kept bumping into me that time she came to Canterlot."
Starshade stroked his dark blue chin before coming to his conclusion. "Very well, you can do it, Flash Sentry. Don't let me down, no matter what. She could be very ill."
"Yes sir!" Flash Sentry said with respect. He flared his wings and took off towards Twilight's Castle, since they were a few miles away.
"Now, then. The rest of you, go back and do whatever you were doing."
Twilight's Castle...
Twilight wheezed as she drank her lemonade and almost coughed it up. Spike looked over at her. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yes, for the third time, yes!"
"I'm not convinced, Twilight. I mean - look at you!"
"I'm fine!" Twilight said, coughing. "Everything's fine..."
"No, it's not," Spike said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief and putting it on the table. "Twilight, go to the hospital. Now."
"I've already made an appointment with the doctor. I'm going tomorrow."
"Why are you trying to avoid this? It could be bad, Twilight. The best thing to do is to go to the doctors!"
Twilight began to see sense in what Spike was saying. "Okay, I'll go. For you."
"Not for me, for you."
"For me."
Twilight stood on her hooves, coughing and spluttering and clutching her chest. Her condition wasn't getting any better. She weakly walked to the castle's entrance, Spike following behind. Twilight hobbled up close to the door and opened it. Outside was stood Flash Sentry, looking concerned. Twilight roughly pushed past him and the two beings waited for a cab.
Ponyville General Hospital, half an hour later...
Twilight and Spike walked into the hospital and Spike rushed up to the counter. "Help! Twilight's ill!" he pleaded, motioning to his best friend. "You gotta help her!"
"Oh my!" called the pony at the counter, seeing Twilight's condition. "Doctors! Help!"
Within thirty seconds the doctors were there and rushing Twilight into a wheelchair. They wheeled her around and into an empty room, where they took her pulse, breathing rate, and magic levels. One of the doctors looked at Twilight as he stood in the room and addressed Spike sadly.
"Let's get out of this room for a minute."
Spike nodded and they both left the room. The doctor sighed.
"I'm afraid Twilight has a very severe case of magic deficiency. She won't survive for long, Spike. Wait in the waiting room, and as soon as we find out, we'll tell you how long she has left. It's the worst I've seen in my thirty years of being a doctor. We're going to use an experimental drug to prolong her life."
Spike began sobbing as the doctor disappeared back into the room.
Spike curled up in a ball on the cold, hard chair in the waiting room and cried. It was so lonely without her there, healthy and safe. "Twilight..."
Spike was so sad he didn't even hear his friends coming in and sitting down next to him. When he did realise, he looked at them with teary eyes. "You guys been told too, huh?" Five ponies nodded. Rarity was sat nearest to Spike and enveloped him in a hug.
"Shh, Spike... it'll be fine..." She said, smiling. "She'll be fine..."
When Spike heard this, he snapped, pushing Rarity away and leaving five surprised ponies. "FINE! She's going to be FINE? Say THAT to the doctors who just told me SHE IS GOING TO DIE, and with NO EXPLANATION, and it's all FINE? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"
Five ponies shrank down and Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had tears welling in their eyes. Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack were on the verge of tears. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash's face turned into a scowl. "Well, pardon me, but SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU, and you just YELL IN HER FACE?! Great choice!" Rainbow pressed on. "If it's so bad, and you hate Rarity SOOO much for this, then I suggest you get out!"
Spike shrank down, and Rainbow Dash calmed down a little from her outburst. "Look, the thing is, if you haven't got anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!"
Applejack put her hoof on the upset pony's shoulder. "It's okay now, sugarcube. Ah think Spike understands, don'tcha, Spike?"
"Y-yeah... I do." Spike looked at the door. "She's in that room. They're trying to save her some more time up with an experimental drug, they told me. But it probably won't work. It's our last hope, guys."
The doctor came out of the room, looking grave and looking at all the ponies. "Two weeks," he said, "Two weeks to spend time with her before she passes away. You're not allowed in until tomorrow, when she's fully stable." And with that, he disappeared into the long corridors, his head hung low and muttering silent prayers. Everypony began to cry into each other's shoulders. Rainbow Dash's head was in Applejack's chest and her wings were flared. Fluttershy and Rarity cried together. Pinkie Pie tried her best to stay silent, and Spike curled up in a ball, much like before.
"A-at least we have each other," Fluttershy said, "to lean on if we want to cry..."
"Y-yes darling, t-that's true..."
Over the next half an hour news of Twilight's illness spread like wildfire across Equestria. Many ponies, important figures or complete strangers came to give her flowers, even though they weren't allowed to see her. It wasn't just ponies, horses, griffons and zebras visited as well. It had been four hours since the news and it was getting late. "We'd better get going soon," said Pinkie Pie.
Five ponies and a dragon left, distressed and unable to do anything with themselves but look at the floor. Rarity looked at Spike. "I'm sure you don't want to sleep on your own," said Rarity. "Come and sleep at my place."
Spike was too tired to argue. "Okay..."
Carousel Boutique, an hour later...
Spike curled up on the spare bed, crying until his eyes were dry and not caring that it was early morning. Why? he thought. Why is Twilight dying? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The fight with Tirek, all that extra power, when Tirek had drained it. It was so much that Twilight's body hadn't been able to take it being stolen all at once.
The small dragon felt tired. He needed to sleep badly. Spike curled into a ball, not even bothering to go under the bedsheets. Twilight had been fine after destroying Tirek, even dancing and having a laugh at the massive party afterwards. But now, here she was, in A&E. It had all been a blur after that, of arguing, strangers, and famous people he always wanted to meet. But he didn't speak a single word to anypony, zebra, griffon or horse. He just sat there.
Spike felt drowsy and, all at once and a little too quickly for his liking, he fell into a deep and unmatched slumber.
A&E, Ponyville General Hospital
Twilight was wide awake and doctors were crowded round. Her vision was blurred and her eyes were blocked. Words were said and everypony there dispensed, leaving Twilight alone in the room. Her senses returned. "What happened?" Twilight choked but to no answer. "I feel so alone..."
Twilight buried her head in her hooves and rolled over, sobbing. "Why? They told me I'm going to die... but why? Who's fault is it? It can't be nopony's fault, surely..." Twilight looked up at the cold ceiling. "Why can't somepony just give me a clear explanation to what's going on?!" she sobbed. "Why can't I just have anything?! A simple answer would do!"
Twilight cried herself to sleep that night.
Author's Note
Edit: Addressed some errors and made the chapter generally a lot better.
